Climate-Adaptive, Inclusive, Nature-based Aquaculture (CAINA) in Malaysia and Solomon Islands

The "Climate-Adaptive, Inclusive, Nature-based Aquaculture (CAINA) in Malaysia and Solomon Islands" project is funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Government of Canada. The CAINA project aims to explore and define nature-based solutions in aquaculture, creating clear standards for nature-based aquaculture (NBA) and tools to assess the environmental, social, and economic impact of NBA operations. The research will be conducted through case studies in Malaysia and the Solomon Islands, and pathways for scaling NBA in Southeast Asia and the Pacific (SEAPAC) will be developed. The potential benefits of this research include improved food security for 1.12 million undernourished consumers in Malaysia and the Solomon Islands, as well as positive environmental effects through reduced emissions, increased carbon sequestration and ecosystems restoration.

Project Goals

CAINA will contribute to the scaling of nature-based aquaculture (NBA) practices in Malaysia, Solomon Islands and Southeast Asia and the Pacific (SEAPAC) ensuring scalability of a climate-smart, nature-positive, socially inclusive, nutrition-sensitive, and economically efficient NBA sector.

Objectives

Generate the most rigorous, applicable, and resonant definition of NBA globally and in SEAPAC, reaching international organizations, research institutions, national governments, private sector, non-profit sector, and local aquaculture farmers and market stakeholders.

Establish a shared framework for measuring the social, economic, and environmental performance characteristics of NBA in SEAPAC.

Develop climate-change projections and resulting scenarios for climate-change adaptive NBA development in Malaysia and Solomon Islands coastal zones.

Develop a comprehensive survey of the current aquaculture activities in Malaysia and Solomon Islands, with reference to the NBA framework.

Identify, in collaboration with national governments across the SEAPAC region, the technical, financial, and policy enablers for scaling NBA in a climate-smart and gender-inclusive and socially inclusive manner.

Project Leader: Edward Allison

Project Coordinator: Teoh Shwu Jiau